Killer Entertainment: Gotham S01xE01

Today I am going to introduce a new “segment” to the blog entitled: Killer Entertainment!

What I aim to do with Killer Entertainment is pretty much what I do with my Book posts. I will ramble nonsensically about anything and everything Entertainment. So, Ill talk about television shows, movies, maybe even music. These posts will, however, not be as frequent as my book reviews…now let’s get this ball rolling!

On Monday, September 22nd, 2014, FOX aired its official first attempt at dabbling in the Comic Book world with their brand new television drama, Gotham.

If you’ve been living under a rock or just haven’t heard all the buzz around this show, it’s about Batman. Well, no not really. It follows a young James Gordon, played by Benjamin McKenzie (The OC, SouthLand), throughout his first years with the Gotham Police Department. The show serves as an origin story for Gordon, as well as Batman and all the villains we know and love.

During the premiere episode, viewers were introduced to some of the future villains.

First was Selina Kyle, played by Camren Bicondova. I don’t really have much to say about her. I missed the beginning of the episode so I don’t know if she said anything in the beginning but she certaintly didn’t say anything for the rest of the episode. Bicondova does happen to look almost exactly like a young Michelle Pfeiffer though, which was pretty cool. However, they made her a little too Catwoman-y. She was pretty much only seen climbing walls with goggles on for whatever reason..

Next was Edward Nygma, played by Cory Michael Smith (Camp X-Ray). If you’re a fan of Batman, you know just who he is but even if you’re not a diehard fan, the hinting towards who he was, was not subtle at all. It was the first episode and in his minute long scene, writers had him spewing riddle after riddle. I honestly think he only had about 3 sentences in the premiere episode, and all 3 of those sentences were a riddle. Now, the Riddler’s one of my favorite Batman villains but come on, I thought this was an origin show. Not a “they’re already villains just slightly younger” show.

We were also introduced to a very young Poison Ivy. Writers, I guess in hopes to appeal to casual viewers, changed her name from Pamela Isely to Ivy Pepper, played by Clare Foley (Sinister, Win Win, Girls). Foley is adorable and I can’t wait to see her origin story. The name change is the only real “complaint” I have about the character thus far, but I’m so intrigued for more.

The best, by far, is Oswald Cobblepot, played by Robin Lord Taylor (Accepted, Another Earth). Fuck. Taylor does absolutely amazing in this episode. He definitely stole the show. I’ve never been more excited to see a Penguin origin than I am after seeing the sneak peek of next week’s episode.

The episode itself was well-written, to a certain extent. Some lines seemed a little too forced, not only in delivery but in the sense that in an actual conversation, they’d seem too scripted. The show is dark, violent, and gritty, which is exactly what I want out of my Batman/Gotham-centric stories. This was not the best premiere I’ve ever seen but it is definitely a good one. It will leave you wanting oh so much more!

PS. keep in mind, I only talked about like 4 characters. There are so many more Batman characters from the comics that are in this show too. It just makes it so much more enthralling. Here’s the promo for Episode 2!